Inexperience and distraction deadly for teen drivers

This is Teen Driver Safety Week in Wisconsin. Dave Pabst, Director of the Bureau of Transportation Safety, said teen drivers continue to be killed and injured at alarming rates in large part because they lack experience. That’s coupled with the increased distractions available to modern drivers, primarily in the form of cell phones.

Pabst belives it’s critical for parents and other adults to model good behaviors behind the wheel. “If you’re like me, you’re driving and seeing even older drivers paying more attention to their cell phones than they are to what’s on the road. It’s really kind of alarming that we’re not setting a better example for these teen drivers.”

Last year in Wisconsin, 48 teenagers were killed and more than 5300 injured in traffic accidents. “They’re more likely to crash because they just don’t have experience,” said Pabst. “It is a public health issue.”